Strange type of dream recall, anyone else like me there?

[KiwiNinja]

So I started keeping a dream journal about 6 days ago.Anywhere I read people always say they remember 1-2 dreams a week in the beginning and move up from there.Well I always, I mean Always remember a small fraction of my dreams in the morning, probably the last parts.I've written something in my dream journal every day, but they're all short.I have had some success with retracing my steps, but when I do sometimes I kind of look at the dream from a 3rd person view, like hovering over the place and saying "I went there and did that", but with a hard time visualizing myself.I started waking myself up in the middle of the night to remember more than just snipets of the dreams, and it works to an extent.Is anyone there familiar with this sort of thing?I don't know what to make of it.Is it good for the frequency or bad for the length?Any reply at all is appreciated.

[Matte87]

I find that my memory stops when I try to remember a dream. Sometimes I get the feeling that's how the dream started, but sometimes I know there's more. All you can do is to push the limit every time you recall, and really try to think of what happened before that moment, and before that and so on. Any kind of recall is good, so just keep on trying and you will see improvement

[Zealot]

Since i was a child i could always remember my dreams when i woke up. I actually remember there was one night in my life where i could not remember my dream, that is all. I believe it is related to your topic here, since ever since i can remember i've woken up every hour to every other hour in the night. That one night i didn't remember my dream i slept the entire night through. I still remember my very first realistic dream when i was 4 years old. Maybe this reply will help you.

[lucyoncolorado]

About the third-person thing, are you sure that you did not dream it in third-person? Sometimes I dream that I'm in the dream, acting out the action (even if I'm not myself) in the first person. Other times, it's like I'm watching a dream- like a movie- even if I'm in it. So maybe it isn't your memory- maybe that was how the dream really was. As for waking up at night (I've never intentionally done that as I think unbroken sleep is important), I most certainly remember more dreams when I wake up in the middle of the night naturally (to go to the bathroom or whatever) but if I don't write down notes to trigger my memories, I will forget them within seconds. So if you are waking up in the middle of the night to increase your recall, then try writing down keywords to help you remember- keep the pencil and paper by your bed. I've only done this a few times since joining this website, but each time I remembered WAY more dreams than I normally do. One thing that keeping a dream journal has helped me do is to remember to remember the dreams. When I wake up (at night or in the morning) it is often the first thing on my mind because I've fallen in the habit of remembering the dreams.

[JP]

Welcome to the forums, I experience this on a daily basis, I have one-three dreams that I can really remember and usually one or two that are very vague and seem to just slip by. They are usually in the 3rd person perspective as well. Don't worry, as you practice more and become more familiar with the ins and outs of lucid dreaming your dreams will become more vivid and easier to remember.

[KiwiNinja]

Thanks a lot for the replies.I'm kind of more confident now.I guess it varies from person to person.I have a friend that has been a natural lucid dreamer her whole life, no training or anything.I think I've remembered a small part of my dreams in the morning since I was little, but I was uninterested since it's usually very short.I have a lot to work on.I think the link with your subconscious has a lot to do with this, but that's another topic.Anyway, thanks again.

[Jvail]

I'm just starting up my journal as well, and it's just like that-fragments. But always in the first person, I never see myself. I think at this stage, any recall we can manage is good.